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Nicki Minaj Flips A Dancehall Classic For 'MEGATRON'

Nicki Minaj returns with her first solo single of the year with "MEGATRON." On the (custom Versace) heels of releasing the track "BAPS" with Trina earlier this week, its no coincidence Nicki dropped this track and its accompanying visual on the first official day of summer. The video for "MEGATRON" oozes tropical hues and sex appeal while the Trinidadian rapper rhymes over a dancehall-inspired beat.

"My name is Nicki M, I'm in a sticky Benz / That mean it's candy apple red, I'm Barbie, this is Ken / That is a Fendi fact, I'm with a hunnid mac / Oh, this is custom made, Donatella sent me that," she raps before the Auto-Tuned pre-chorus.

"MEGATRON" is produced by Onika herself, NOVA WAV and Pop Wansel (known for his work on Nicki's 2010 single "Your Love") and bares resemblance to the rapper's 2014 smash hit "Anaconda," the rapper's highest-charting song, in its throwback-leaning beat DNA. Much like "Anaconda'"s masterful flip of "Baby Got Back," this new track samples "Filthy Riddim," a well known Jamaican riddim used in dancehall classics like Chaka Demus & Pliers "Murder She Wrote."

While the track is named after a beloved '80s-era Transformer, there's nothing wildly transformative or unexpected about this song or video — this formula continues to work for Nicki. But why mess the mix if it's getting her Barbz turnt?

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Sidney Madden is a reporter and editor for NPR Music. As someone who always gravitated towards the artforms of music, prose and dance to communicate, Madden entered the world of music journalism as a means to authentically marry her passions and platform marginalized voices who do the same.